Fixing the Democratic Party

 Here is a random collection of headlines:

Andrew Cockburn, “Playing Dead:  Do the Democrats really want reform,”, Harper’s, Aug. 2025.

“Stop Whining and Take On Trump, Obama Scolds Democrats at a Fund-Raiser,” NYT (July 16, 2025), p. A22.

“Why Is Democratic Favorability at a 35-Year Low?”  The Liberal Patriot, July 30, 2025.  (On-line newsletter.)

Josh Dawsey, et.al.  2024:  How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America.  Penguin Press, 2025.

Michelle Cottle, “Kansas Shows a Path Forward for Democrats,” NYT,

(July 20, 2025), p. A9.

“Slotkin Pushes Democrats To Show ‘Alpha Energy,’” NYT, (July 20, 2025), p. 19.

Dash Lewis, “Opportunity Knocked:  Lily Geismer on the Democratic Party’s Failed Vision for the Working Class,” The Sun, (Aug. 2025).

“New Crop of Democrats Is Sick of the Status Quo,” NYT, (July 13, 2025), p. 24.

I have more, but I think we get the picture.  No one has THE answer.  Maybe there is no answer.

Democratic Party booth at the Carbon County fair

This year it should be fun.  I don’t work the booth until Friday evening, but I’m looking forward to it.  Tariffs, Epstein, the big ballroom, the labor statistics, “Let’s go fat Brandon”–so much to toss back if any MAGA people give me a hard time.

I notice our Republican Congressman Ryan Mackenzie, friend of billionaire tax cuts and Trump lapdog, also has a booth.  I might have to stop by that one on my way home.

Too many, too fast, too much

Paving the Rose Garden, pushing tariffs on Brazil because of an internal legal decision, attacking Canada, appointing obviously authoritarian judges to the courts, dismissing honest civil servants, redacting Trump’s name from the Epstein files–the list goes on and on and on.  Big important matters, small petty actions, personal vendettas carried out with government power, illegal deportations, personal financial gain, lies about science, attacks on public broadcasting, strengthening China, harming long-standing allies....

Big stuff.  Small stuff.  Silly stuff.  Things that are just stupid.  Things that will change the future of our planet.  And the Republicans in Congress fall into line.  And the networks grovel.  And the law firms cave.  And the universities bend.  And the MAGA cult cheers.

There are some islands of resistance.  People fighting back against ICE.  People organizing demonstrations.  Reporters who still speak the truth.  Men and women who refuse to be afraid.  

Be one of those people.  Speak out.  Fight back.  You don’t need to stand in front of a tank, but don’t be complicit. 

Back in the U.S.S.R.

The Smithsonian removed all reference to Trump’s impeachments yesterday.  Never happened.

Then today Trump was disappointed in the labor statistics.  They didn’t reflect well on his administration.  The statistician who came up with the data was fired.  Maybe the next report will be more to his liking.

You don’t know how lucky you are, boy, back in the U.S.S.R.

(Apologies to John, Paul, George, and Ringo.)

No Tax on Tips (Big Whoop)

 When their “Big Beautiful Bill” is criticized, Republican members of Congress are quick to point out that they have eliminated the tax on tips.  They really care about us.

Here is something they never talk about.  Why not raise the federal minimum wage for all workers, including tipped workers, to a level people can live on?  Why are Republican congress members depending on customers to make up for the lousy wages tipped workers are now getting paid?

Those members of Congress also never talk about the fact that the “no tax on tips” ends in three years.  Incidentally, the 14% cut in billionaires’ taxes will be permanent.

Marjorie Taylor Greene comments on Gaza

She said in a social media post:  “It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct. 7 in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide humanitarian crisis and starvation happening in Gaza.”

Rep. Greene also voted to strip $500 million of American funding from the Israeli military.  One of the people who voted with Greene on that issue was Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the only Palestinian in Congress.

Truly mind-boggling.

See Robert Jimison, “MAGA Stalwart Calls Gaza Crisis “Genocide, New York Times, (July 30, 2025), p. A6.

Solicitation from Speaker Mike Johnson

That’s right.  I received a solicitation for money from Speaker Mike Johnson.  The message talked about how awful the Democrats (a.k.a. socialists) were, and how the Republicans were making things great. 

Luckily an email was provided.  I sent in a message telling Mike that I would give him money when the Republican Party dumped the pedophile Trump.  I doubt if I will hear from Mike again.

Reflect on this.  If Trump dies, we get Vance.  If Vance dies, we get Johnson.  It almost makes you hope Trump serves out his term.  Incidentally, today 1/8 of his last term is over.  Hang in there.

Living in fear

Frank Kendall was the Secretary of the Air Force during the Biden Administration.  He is now an attorney.  He recently wrote “The Trump Administration Brings Fear to America,” in which he discusses Trump’s efforts to suppress dissent and spread fear among colleges, students, government employees, even members of Congress.  

These people will not be thrown in jail or sent to another country, They may lose their jobs, but they won’t be killed or deported, at least not yet.

However, there are groups of people in this country who have much more to fear.  Kendall writes:  “A few years ago, I represented a woman seeking asylum because she had been persecuted by her country’s government.  When an immigration judge granted her the right to remain in the United States indefinitely the assumption was that she was finally safe.  Now she must live in fear once again.”

We are now Chile under Pinochet, Argentina under the Generals, Russia under Putin.  I hear people say “This is not who we are.”  I am afraid it is exactly who we are.

See Frank Kendall, “The Trump Administration Brings Fear to America,” New York Times, (July 24, 2025), p. A 22.  The conclusions are mine.

Gaming the political system

Political columnist and author Ezra Klein has written that when a dominant and powerful group foresees that it is losing its controlling position in a democratic system, it has two choices.  It can make an appeal to the groups it is losing, reaching out to broaden its coalition.  It can also repress the party that it sees as a threat, limiting the suffrage, discouraging voters who might support the other side, and winning by intimidation.

The Republican Party is full of people who worry about “the great replacement,” who are concerned that Republicans (and often times white people) don’t have enough children, and think that Christianity and conservative dominance are under threat.

Some Republicans have successfully attempted to broaden their support.  Mike Dewine in Ohio and Larry Hogan in Maryland are two Republicans who won elections with a broad coalition.  Even Trump has courted “tech bros,” although many of that group are also rich, into crypto, or believe Trump will advance their wealth and power.

The main Republican emphasis, however, seems to be to limit the ability of Democrats or third parties to win elections.  Attacks on voting by mail or demands for citizenship papers are obvious methods to limit voting, but also consider the conservative boost in “Citizens United,” the push to gerrymander districts, and the efforts to undermine an independent press.  Even structural features in the Constitution help to maintain Republican dominance–red Wyoming gets two Senators; blue California, with about 60 times the population of Wyoming, also has two.  That system also affects the electoral college.  And if a party can win both Congress and the Presidency, it can appoint fanatical followers to the federal courts.

Yeah, it looks bleak. 

Roadkill

I’m tired of posting about Trump.  Just looking at him makes my skin crawl.  So tonight I’m writing about a much more pleasant subject.

Did you know it is legal in Pennsylvania to pick up road-killed deer for personal consumption?  There are a few stipulations.  You have to be a Pennsylvania resident, and you must notify the Game Commission within 24 hours.  They will issue a permit number for the meat along with instructions on what to do with the inedible parts, like antlers.  

I learned this today in an article by Ben Moyer in the latest issue of the Pennsylvania Game News.  Use your common sense, of course.  Do I really need to say the carcass should be fresh?  

By the way, the same rules apply to road-killed turkeys. 

Escape from reality

I keep a list of the books I read, and I just noticed that the last seven books I finished have all been either crime or spy novels by authors like Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Carl Hiaasen, and Anne Hillerman.  I Just started The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner, and that one is over 500 pages long.

I know what I’m doing.  I’m trying to shut out a world where Gaza children are starved, a pedophile is president, children are snatched off the street by armed thugs hired by the U.S. government, the environment is going to hell, and I don’t see things getting any better.

So back to the Wallace Stegner.

I haven’t quit.  Just need some diversion.

"New agers" driving toads into extinction

I get so tired of selfish Americans.  The Sonoran Desert toad is on the road to extinction because jerks in the U.S. who want to “expand their consciousness” are smoking a psychedelic compound that is secreted by the toads.  Mexicans are catching the toads and harvesting the secretions until the toads die.  The toads are now in steep decline and may go extinct.  

You want to raise your consciousness, try raising it to the level where you don’t need to kill innocent animals.  

This is just one more example of selfish behavior on the part of Americans who don’t give a damn what they do to the rest of the world.  How many drug cartels and how many Mexican gangs would exist if it weren’t for Americans using drugs like heroin and Fentanyl.  I personally don’t care if people get high.  I just wish they would find a way to do it that doesn’t wreck other countries. 

Drug addiction is an activity of selfish people who ought to know better.  For goodness sake, get addicted to alcohol.  At least you won’t be endangering toads.

Sheer vandalism

Some of the actions of this President make sense in a twisted way.  Trump thinks the world is taking advantage of the U.S., so he proposes tariffs.  I get that he doesn’t understand tariffs, but at least there is some justification, however misguided, for the action.  I get that he thinks brown and black immigrants are a threat to white America, so I understand his support for mass deportations.  I get that he thinks women are to be used–he has said as much–so I get his visits to Epstein’s island to rape teenage girls.

What I don’t get is why we would pull out of UNESCO.  Or why we would pick a fight with Canada.  Or why he is willing to gut workplace safety rules.  The only explanation I can think of for these actions is that Trump is like a young boy who vandalizes a public park and thinks that was an interesting and fun thing to do.

What I also don’t get is that grown men and women, who would take the young boy to the juvenile authorities, seem quite willing to go along with the vandalism.  I have never seen a good explanation for this behavior on the part of Trump or his followers. 

the Washington "Redskins"

 Trump announced he wants the Washington Commanders to go back to their old name, the “Redskins.”  He also supports the Cleveland “Indians.”  

We should honor more groups that way.  The Cincinnati “Krauts,”  The Boston “Micks,” The New York “Dagos,” the Chicago “Polacks,” and the San Francisco “Chinks” could be appropriate.

In honor of Trump’s interest in sports, he should have his own golf team.  I suggest the Mar-a-Lago “Pedos.”

I dump my Paramount stocks

As you probably would guess, I am not a major player in the stock market.  Way back in the 1980s I received a cold call from who I think was a Merrill-Lynch intern asking me if I wanted to buy some stocks.  He recommended something called “Blockbuster.”  I didn’t know what that was, but I thought that was a really cool name, so I bought some shares.  Over the years Blockbuster was sold to another company, which was sold again.  In any case, my few stocks were now part of Paramount, the parent company of CBS.

You know, CBS.  The one that caved and paid off Trump when he sued “60 Minutes” over editing decisions.  The one that cancelled Colbert.  The one that is the definition of “anticipatory obedience.”

So I called Merrill-Lynch and told the representative I no longer wanted to be associated with Paramount, not even to own a few stocks.  Unlike CBS, I do not compromise with evil.  With the money I got from the sale, I invested in something called “Lands End.”  I think they make clothes.  I like the way that sounds.  I don’t know if it has an apostrophe.

(And just so you get the complete picture of my “portfolio,” I also own stock in the New York Times, my go-to source for posting info.  The rest of my savings are in a lard can buried under an apple tree.)

Here's my latest letter to my Congressman, Ryan Mackenzie

Dear Rep. Mackenzie:

I was cleaning out my bookcase when I came across an old elementary school text entitled The First Book of Congress by Harold Coy, c. 1956.  The book explains in simple terms what the House and Senate do.  Obviously some of it is out-of-date, but the basic lesson that Congress is a co-equal branch of government and is in charge of the “purse strings” remains valid.  

Given your votes and those of your Republican colleagues, it is obvious that you do not understand either “checks and balances” or “the separation of powers.”  You and your colleagues in the House and Senate are a co-equal branch of government.  The President does not tell you what to do.

I thought you knew that, but if not, I would be happy to send you the book.  Don’t worry about the cost–even with the ever increasing cost of postage, I will be able to afford the book rate.

Let me know if you would like a copy.

Sincerely,

Roy Christman

 

We don't need no stinkin' energy from windmills

Sen. Josh Hawley said he has a commitment from Energy Secretary Wright to stop a loan guarantee that the Energy Department had previously offered to the company Invenergy.  That company was ready to build an $11 billion transmission line from Kansas windmills to Indiana and Illinois.  The line would cross Missouri.  The governor of Missouri and Missouri senator Josh Hawley want it killed.

Trump is all in on this, since he doesn’t like electrical power generated by windmills.

It is difficult to believe how stupid and short-sighted these guys are.  By the way, one of the reasons they say they opposed the transmission line was because it could use eminent domain for the right-of-way.  They have no problem with using eminent domain for fracking gas pipelines, however.

I speak from experience on that one.

Some of the information for this post is from David Gelles, “Hawley Gets Trump’s Help in Bid To Quash the Grain Belt Express, New York Times, (19 July 2025), p. A10. 

Nixon Redux

One of the advantages of being old is that you remember stuff.  After we discovered that Nixon had taped conversations in the Oval Office, Nixon said, in effect, The tapes prove I am innocent, but you can’t hear them.  Of course, we all knew that if the tapes proved he were innocent, he would have delivered them to the special prosecutor with a Brinks Armored Truck.

Now we get the same story from Trump.  I am innocent, I didn’t do anything wrong, I hardly knew that Epstein guy, but you can’t see the papers even though they would prove this.  

Yeah, right.

At least Nixon didn’t force himself on underage girls.

Lies from the Department of Homeland Security

First, here is what Mayor Bass said about the raids in L.A.:  “These reckless, unlawful raids are fueled by racial profiling that has driven fear in communities, tearing families apart, crushing entire sectors of the economy because people are afraid to go to work and flying in the face of American democratic values.”

That is the absolute truth.  How many white people are caught up in the raids?  How many undocumented Irish in Boston have been picked up?  How many Russians?  This whole raid business is pure racism.

Tricia McLaughlin, an ICE spokeswoman, will now give you the line of bullshit:  “The intensity and pace will continue until we get the terrorists, gang members, murderers, rapists and child abusers off Los Angeles streets.”  

If they  are looking for rapists and child abusers, maybe they should be going after the people mentioned in the Epstein report rather than the guys picking lettuce and hanging drywall.

The quotes from Mayor Bass and the ICE spokeswoman are from Hamed Aleaziz and Orlando Mayorquin, “Arrests of Immigrants Spike in Sweep of Los Angeles Area,” New York Times, (July 12, 2025), p. A 17.